284 THE VOYAGE OF THE " FRAM " 



as I remember, clogs. As the latter were rather 

 slippery, and the Fram suddenly gave an unexpected 

 lurch, he was carried off his legs, and left sitting on the 

 deck, while his bucket of water poured all over him. 

 But " it was all in his country's cause," so he did not 

 mind. We caught about 3 tons of water, and then 

 had our tanks full, or about 30 tons, when the shower 

 passed off; later in the voyage we filled a bucket now 

 and again, but it never amounted to much, and if we 

 had not been as careful as we were, our water-supply 

 would hardly have lasted out. 



On October 4 we crossed the Equator. The south- 

 east trade was not so fresh as we had expected, and the 

 engine had to be kept going the whole time. 



At the beginning of November we came down into 

 the west wind belt, or the " Roaring Forties," as they 

 are called, and from that time we ran down our easting 

 at a great rate. We were very lucky there, and had 

 strong fair winds for nearly seven weeks at a stretch. 

 In the heavy sea we found out what it was to sail in the 

 Fram; she rolls incessantly, and there is never a 

 moment's rest. The dogs were thrown backwards and 

 forwards over the deck, and when one of them rolled 

 into another, it was taken as a personal insult, and a 

 fight followed at once. But for all that the Fram is 

 a first-rate sea boat, and hardly ever ships any water. 

 If this had been otherwise, the dogs would have been 

 far worse off than they were. 



